Joe Hughes Poems

(An Armagh City Hotel Experience)

Sullen-faced he sits,
Alone at a three-generation family meal.
...

Could you give me a lift?
Can you lend me a tenner?
Can you answer the door?
Have you cooked the dinner?
...

Virile, apart, strong,
Sensitive, kind, young.
Leader, outspoken, straight,
Quiet, thoughtful - a mate.
...

Is there cotton in materialism?
Did the Iron Curtain rust away?
Can you kick your ball
Across Hadrian's Wall?
...

I am taking down the Christmas cards,
I've thrown away the tree.
The baubles are all packed away,
There's no more Christmas glee.
...

Molly's take-away is busy,
Selling chips, kebabs galore.
Evening warmth
Greets homebound trawlers,
...

O! Sacred Chip,
O! Chip divine,
I like you fried,
Sauteed with wine?
...

I've heard that Christ was Irish,
Some say he was a Jew,
But he had Irish traits for sure,
I know of one or two.
...

Silver tipped it bubbles
Through rocky, shallow twists,
Turns left, then right, then left again
Its voice a gentle lilt.
...

He'll say he's just not a poet at all.
He puts himself down from the start.
But I've seen the depth of his poetic wealth,
Though he says he's a scribbler at heart!
...